\chapter{Genres}
\label{sec:genres}
\section{Educational Games}
\label{sec:genres-educationalgames}
	One of the most important branches of Serious Gaming are Educational Games.\\
	
	Traditionally, education has been subject to the question-answering method and discussion since ancient Greece, and even
	before that. However, over time, new methods to convey information have been evolved and adopted into the teaching process.
	Today, books, movies, and even television are vital parts of the educating process, and video games are becoming more and more
	established as education tools as well. Games in general, and video games in particular, are currently in the process of proving
	their effectiveness as tools of training and teaching. However, public acceptance of these teaching tools is still somewhat subpar,
	but is increasing as gaming permeates the essence of teaching.
	
	Edutainment utilizes the game mechanics to motivate players to play the game and
	learn while playing. It comes naturally to replicate real-world environments in a
	simpler game version to use for education while still applying the most important rules
	that the learner is supposed to be taught.\\
	
	Educational games have been used for a wide variety of teaching purposes, both in the traditional school subject teaching
	sectors, and outside. For example, games like \textit{Drum Master} and \textit{Guitar Hero}
	can help players get a foot inside the door of learning how to play an instrument. Obviously, these games are nowhere
	near accurate models of the real instruments, but they can help a student get a feeling for rhythm, and motivate them towards
	picking up an instrument for real. Additionally, there are projects in development like \textit{Guitar Rising} that will allow players
	to hook up real instruments as controllers for the game.\\
	
	\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.5\textwidth}
			\label{fig:guitarrising}
		    \begin{center}
		        \includegraphics[scale=0.5]{images/guitarrising}
		    \end{center}
			\vspace{-10pt}
		    \caption{Guitar Rising \cite{barr08}}
		    \vspace{-10pt}
	\end{wrapfigure}
	One of the biggest benefits of utilizing video games for teaching is the informal prodecure in which information is communicated to
	the student. Specifically, according to Beck and Wade\cite{beckwade06}, it can be observed that gaming:
	\begin{enumerate}
		\item Aggressively ignores the structure and format of formal instruction, which is often perceived to be boring by students
		\item Is built on trial and error, with a "failure is nearly free; just play again" mentality
		\item Includes instruction from friends, peers and equals, as opposed to rigid authoritative figures
		\item Emphasizes learning skills and information just before it is needed
	\end{enumerate}
	
	\subsection{Organizational-dynamic games}
		Organizational-dynamic edutainment games are games that are used to teach people the
		dynamics of certain or generic organizational structures. Organizational-dynamic games
		are usually developed and designed to the purpose of expanding personal development
		and promoting character building. Goals include teaching participants to deal with complex organizational
		situations, such as managing change in a company, introduction of collaborative patterns, and
		managing difficult meeting situations, and so on.
		\subsection{Simulation Games}
		Simulation Gaming is perhaps the most developed genre of Serious Games; it has saturated
		the market thorougly and has been in use for decades. Simulation Games are used to teach mechanics
		of various professional sectors, starting with construction and management simulations,
		continuing with a wide range of flight aviation simulators to educate pilots, both military
		and civilian, to wargames that are used to train soldiers to react to common and uncommon
		combat situations.\\
\section{Advergames}
\label{sec:genres-advergames}
	Advergaming describes the procedure of using advertisement elements in the context
	of a video game to promote a product or service. Advergaming is not strictly
	a Serious Game subgenre only, as the practice of placing advertisement banners of
	real-life consumer articles in video game-contexts has spread in the entertainment
	game industry as well.\\
	
	Advergames are serious video games that are used to promote some agenda for the developer
	or a contractor	to gain a financial advantage. Generally, the game is used as a
	medium to convey a recommendation for a good product. Serious Advergames are generelly developed
	with the sole purpose to promote their article; examples include free games included with
	products such as cereals. Sometimes, developers will make the games themselves part of a series
	so that the consumer will want to collect to complete the set.
	\newpage
	
\section{Political, Religious, and Art Games}
\label{sec:genres-political-religious-art-games}
	The genre of political, religious and art games describes serious games that are not used
	for knowledge or skill transfer, but to transfer attitude to the player. Usually, the games are
	designed in a way to promote a certain agenda.\\
	
	These Persuasive Games can also be a form of recruitment tool used by governmental as well as
	non-governmental organizations to interest people in their agenda. Charity organiztions, for
	example, have published serious games to spread awareness of a humanitarian or ecological problem
	in the world to try and get people to donate money or goods or to take action themselves by demonstrating
	or changing their voting behavior. Governmental agencies sometimes use the game mechanic to
	present the working environment that the agency is trying to recruit new members for.	
	
	We will split this section into three subgenres to deal with each kind of influential game separetely.
	However, throughout history, religion and art have both supported or opposed political governments and
	installations, and political institutions have tried to influence artists and religious figures in
	return. It is obvious that politics, art, and religion are interconnected, and as such, serious games
	that deal with these topics are also closely related. Given the nature of the topics that they
	deal with, there can be a lot of overlap, be it intentional or not.
	\subsection{Political Games}
		Just like TV, films, books, and music, video games can be a medium with a long and deep cultural
		reach, reflecting and affecting the cultures that create them. For example, America's Army, while
		being primarily a military game, can be seen as an ambassador of goodwill. However, there are also
		anti-U.S. games, created to convey a very different message than America's Army. This reflects the
		evolution of games to disinformation warfare and propaganda tools.\\
		
		Political games are games that try to influence the player to have a bias towards or against specific
		governmental aspects or positions of policy, such as free speech, religion, military spending, international
		relations, laws, environmental policy and so on. Often, a game's bias towards or against a certain issue
		is quite obvious; other times, games honestly try to explore all aspects of a contentious issue.\\
		
		Electioneering games like \textit{Howard Dean For Iowa}\cite{deanamerica03} or \textit{Take Back Illinois}\cite{takebackillinois04} have an obvious
		goal to try to recruit people for the election campaign of the respective client and/or try to convince
		players to vote for them.\\
		
		\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.5\textwidth}
			\label{fig:howarddean}
		    \begin{center}
		        \includegraphics[scale=0.35]{images/howarddean}
		    \end{center}
			\vspace{-10pt}
		    \caption{Howard Dean For Iowa \cite{deanamerica03}}
		    \vspace{-10pt}
	    \end{wrapfigure}
		
		Other kinds of political games are News Games. News Games are often created rapidly
		after a historic moment to emphasize and highlight their importance and relevance in the world. News
		games can be described as games that "utilize the medium with the intention of participating in the
		public debate."\cite{sicart08} For example, the game Darfur Is Dying, which is presented in the Case
		Studies section, is used to bring attention	to the humanitarian disasters caused by the civil war in Sudan.
		
		Furthermore, after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, many serious games
		were created to deal with the broader issues that surrounded the event. \textit{September 12th}, a game
		created by NewsGaming.com illustrates the effects that mindless retaliation attacks on the Middle Eastern
		population can have in the broader conflict in the Middle East.\\
		
		The game \textit{PeaceMaker}, which was created by students at the Carnegie Mellon University, was created to
		make a more even sided approach to the issue. Players can take control of the Israeli Prime Minister or Palestinian
		President and see how their actions elicit responses. The ultimate goal of the game is to create a peaceful resolution
		of the conflict through diplomatic means without having a bias towards either side.	The game was intended
		to be an educational tool for teenagers, to inform them about both sides of the issue, and ultimately, to help
		bring peace to the region.
				
	\subsection{Religious Games}
	Religious games come in two main types: Directly open religious games, and "covert" religious games.
	Direct religious games are, as the name hints, open about the fact that the intent behind the game is
	religious. Usually, they try to teach religious lessons or impart religious knowledge. Generally,
	these games use religious doctrine and literature such as the Bible or the Quran as their primary basic
	design material. Most religious games are of this type.\\
	
	The other type of religious game is one that may not primarily be intended to be religious, but has influences
	nontheless. These games usually are designed by religious game designers and developers; they are usually not
	intended to be overtly religious. In fact, the players might often not be aware of the background potitical agenda
	of the designers.\\
	
	\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.5\textwidth}
			\label{fig:catechumen}
		    \begin{center}
		        \includegraphics[scale=0.75]{images/catechumen}
		    \end{center}
			\vspace{-10pt}
		    \caption{Catechumen}
		    \vspace{-10pt}
	\end{wrapfigure}
	While faith-based games have been around nearly as long as personal computers and video game consoles, their
	popularity has never been high enough to alott them a signicant portion of the video game market. However, as can be
	seen from the growth of the Christian music market, an initial niche product can grow to be a significant market on
	its own right. For example, the Recording Industry Association of America has released figures that state that around
	nearly 7 \% of all music sales in the U.S., a market worth more than \$1 billion in revenue every year can be
	allotted to Christian music. A parallel from the music market can definitely be drawn to the video game market, and while
	7\% may not be a huge slice of the market, analysts still estimate the Christian game market to be \$100-200 million. This
	figure is expected to only grow as an increasing amount of parents in the U.S. grow concerned with the rising levels of graphic violence
	and realism displayed in contemporary video games.\\
	
	An example of faith-based games is \textit{Catechumen}, developed by N'Lightning Software, which was founded
	by Rev. Ralph Bagley. In \textit{Catechumen}, the player is playing in a first-person shooter environment, foraging through
	underground catacombs under ancient Rome to rescue captured Christians, and to fight Satan's minions. Weapons that can be used
	include lightning blades, exploding staves, and drill swords. It is obvious that the designers tried to appeal to a younger audience
	that is used to more interactive games by choosing the very popular first-person shooter layout for the game and implementing
	weapons that are not realistic, but fun to use. With 80,000 copies sold in 2001, the game seems to have been a marketing success.\cite{david05}\\
	
	While the market for Christian games may be the largest in the U.S., it is not the only market. Other religions are being served
	as well. For example, the game \textit{Ehud's Courage and the Cunning Blade} by the Davka Corporation covers the Jewish history, traditions,
	and customs, as well as the Hebrew language. It is an adventure game in which the player explores the ancient world of Biblical Israel and has
	to learn passages from the Book of Prophets as they go along to advance in the game.	
	
	\subsection{Art Games}
	Art games are games in which provide a medium for the artistic expression of the designer. It is often more important than any other
	aspect, even gameplay. Often, the art themes involved can have a political or religious meaning, or both.\\
	
	\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.5\textwidth}
			\label{fig:velvetstrike}
			\vspace{-50pt}
		    \begin{center}
		        \includegraphics[scale=0.75]{images/velvetstrike}
		    \end{center}
			\vspace{-20pt}
		    \caption{Velvet-Strike Spray Icons \cite{velvetstrike}}
		    \vspace{-20pt}
	\end{wrapfigure}
	For example, the project \textit{Velvet-Strike}, which makes use of the in-game spraying mechanic of the popular revolutional
	shooter \textit{Half-Life}, provides a package of in-game spraying icons for the game \textit{Counter-Strike} that expresses the designers
	feelings towards contemporary issues. At the time it was created, the U.S.-led war on Iraq had just started, and the as the game \textit{Counter-Strike}
	portrays a conflict between terrorist and counter-terrorist forces, it became an obvious target for this project.\\
	
	Amongst the frontier of art game development is the art games group \textit{Tale of Tales}, which has been in existence since 1999
	(then under the name Entropy8Zuper!). They have created websites and abstract electronic art, and amongst their projects is
	the \textit{Realtime Art Manifesto}, which is a list of guidelines that expresses their ideas and ideals about using 3D technology for art game development.\\
	
	As opposed to political and religious games, art games are usually not supported by any organizations, interest groups or
	religions. As art games tend to remove themselves further from the mass culture and have a non-commercial nature, it can
	be very hard to get funding for an art game project. As a result, art games usually have a comparatively short development cycle,
	a small developer team that does not work full time on the project. To deal with these problems, these guidelines
	should be followed when developing an art game\cite{david05}:\\
	\begin{enumerate}
		\item Keep the project time frame as short as possible.
		\item Don't be afraid to experiment with non-traditional methods for development and distribution
		\item Be flexible; expect and embrace change in the project's vision and design
	\end{enumerate}
	
	In summary, art game development and distribution closely follows the footsteps of experimental and indepenedent film and
	video production.\\
	
	\begin{figure}[h!]
  		\label{fig:passage}	
  		\begin{center}
    	\includegraphics[scale=0.75]{images/passage}
		\caption{Passage \cite{rohrer07}}
		\end{center}
	\end{figure}
	
	Another example for Art Games is the relatively publically known art game \textit{Passage}. During the game, the player takes control of a young man and follows him through the game world. Immediately
	after the game starts, it is possible to find the love of the young man's life, but it is also possible to explore the world without her. However,
	if the player chooses to walk through the passage of time solo, one can explore many parts of the game world that otherwise are not available. On the
	other hand, the player can get lost and never find back to his sweetheart again. As such, the game makes an artistic (and albeit very simplistic) portrait of life and an abstraction
	of the passage of time.
		
\section{Healthcare Games}
\label{sec:healthcare-games}
	The genre of Healthcare Games is a wide genre. Video games are used to study players' responses to certain scenarios;
	for example, there have been studies involving serious games that try to make a link between video game playing and
	player aggression.\\
	
	On a more physical health level, games have also been known to cause certain injuries through
	excessive repetitive stress on joints and muscles. These injuries are called repetitive stress injuries (RSI), and the
	most common repetitive stress injuries are carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. As such, it has become an aspect of
	game development to identify repetitive exercises in the game and curb the damage that can be done to the player by playing
	the game.\\
	
	Also, an entirely different branch of Healthcare Games focuses on helping improve players' health. Video games
	can be used to assist patients recover, help doctors as they prepare for complex surgery, help patients with mental health
	problems, and so on.\\
	
	\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.5\textwidth}
			\label{fig:wiifit}
            \vspace{-50pt}
		    \begin{center}
		        \includegraphics[scale=0.5]{images/wiifit}
		    \end{center}
			\vspace{-10pt}
		    \caption{WiiFit being used in a health club \cite{wiifit09}}
		    \vspace{-50pt}
	\end{wrapfigure}
	
	A number of games already exist that target fitness and well-being. These "exergaming" games include already very sophisticated
	titles such as \textit{Yourself!Fitness} originally for the XBox, released in 2004, and more recently \textit{WiiFit} for the Nintendo Wii.
	These games focus on bringing the player to do exercises while playing. In fact \textit{WiiFit} has been such a tremendous success that it is
	one of the best selling console games of video game console history with more than 22 million copies sold as of May 2010\cite{wiifitsales10}. The game has also been used
	for physiotherapeutical rehabilitation to recover from injuries and is also being used by various health clubs around the world. While the exercises
	offered by the game are limited in both intensity and versatility, they offer a good way for people who otherwise do not exercise much to
	start training their body.\\
		
	Doris C. Rush has been developing serious games in the last couple of years at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab that deal with depression and how to
	deal with them. One of her games, \textit{Elude}\cite{gambit10}, portrays a depressed teenager that the player takes control of. The goal in the game is to climb upwards,
	towards happiness. Each stage in the game represents an emotional mood, and climbing upwards will improve the character's mood, whereas falling downwards
	leads to stages with dark themes and decreasing movement speed. However, no matter how low one sinks, eventually one ends up in the normal stage again.
	In the normal stage, the player can use an ability called "Resonate" to interact with little birds, which will increase the player's happiness and enable him
	to jump further and higher. This is likely meant to point out to the player to take joy in the little things in life.
	
	\begin{figure}[H]
		\centering
		\subfigure[Sad stage]{
			\includegraphics[scale=.25]{images/eludesad}
			\label{fig:eludesad}
		}
		\subfigure[Default normal stage]{
			\includegraphics[scale=.25]{images/eludenormal}
			\label{fig:eludenormal}
		}
		\subfigure[Happy stage]{
			\includegraphics[scale=.3]{images/eludehappy}
			\label{fig:eludehappy}
		}
		\label{fig:subfigureExample}
		\caption{Elude \cite{gambit10}}
	\end{figure}
	
	Furthermore, games like \textit{Second Life} allow the player to take refuge from a judgmental environment to develop social skills, team building, and computer skills
	in a world where physical and/or mental disabilities are not obviously apparent to other players.
	
	There are also games that create a bridge between the mental and physical aspects of healthcare. For example, biofeedback games like \textit{The Wild Divine Project}
	can help with neurobehavioral developmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD). The game is supported by a multitude of
	sensors that measure biophysical stats such as heartrate, skin conductance, and so on. By learning to control those measurements, the player is able to advance
	through the game if the values are kept within an acceptable limit, which is set by the game. Tools like biofeedback and visual tracking technology can help improve
	players' power of focus and attention span.
	
\section{Military Games}
\label{sec:genres-military-games}
    Games used for military purposes appear in various forms. They can be used for simulation, forecasting,
    training, recruitment, etc. The US military in 2003 spent \$4 billion USD on simulations and war games
    in the training department.
\subsection{History}
    Military games are probably the oldest type of serious games used throughout history.
    Before the invention of gunpowder the military officers were taught how to play chess in the hopes of
    improving their performance on the field.\newline
    Over the course of the years the games employed by the military have grown more complex and started to
    include more game pieces reflecting rifle men or complex terrain.

    A game called \textit{Kriegsspiel} was invented 1812 by Georg Leopold von Reiswitz and then further improved
    by his son.\newline
    \begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.45\textwidth}
	\label{fig:kriegsspiel}
    \vspace{-40pt}
    \caption{Kriegsspiel \cite{kriegsspiel}}
    \vspace{-10pt}
    \begin{center}
        \includegraphics[scale=0.35]{images/kriegsspiel}
    \end{center}
    \vspace{-60pt}
    \end{wrapfigure}
    The game was used in the Prussian military and after several successful military campaigns it captured the
    attention of several other country's militaries who adopted the game and made alterations to it to fit their
    specific needs.\newpage
    History spawned aircrafts, tanks, bombs, bunkers, machine gun and all sorts of military equipment. War became
    increasingly complex. Playing a board game reflecting on that complexity would require days to reflect on a
    single battle having to constantly consult the rulebook.\newline
    Inevitably computers became the necessary tool to handle the workload.

    Simulations are another type of war games which have been used even before World War I. What started out as
    wooden frameworks used to familiarize the pilots with the controls. First visual flight simulators used a
    camera that was analogically moved over a terrain picture according to the pilots movements.\newline
    The usefulness of those 'clumsy' machines for a long time was a subject of debate. Statistics however have
    shown that new pilots are more prone to errors than seasoned veterans and the danger of death during the
    first mission is the highest decreasing with the amount of missions a pilot has flown. Because of this today
    extensive simulator training is mandatory for new pilots before they are allowed into a real aircraft.\newline
    As early as in the 1980s simulators with a more game-like nature were developed. These were interlinked and
    allowed pilots who used their own simulators to interact with each other in the same air field supporting and/or
    fighting against each other.\newline
    America's Army is probably the most well known example of a military game. Since it's release it has been constantly
    improved and its popularity increased. America's Army will be more closely discussed in chapter \ref{sec:case-studies-americas-army}.
\subsection{Effects}
    The reason why the US military invests so heavily into video games is that there are several benefits. Above all
    their recruits are part of a generation who have been growing up playing those games so it makes sense to reap
    the benefits which naturally result from playing shooters as mere side effects which however benefit military training.

    One of the most well known FPS games is \textit{Counter Strike}, a game which has been around for many years and
    been played by most male adolescents. Let's take a look at what playing the game inevitably enables a person to do.
    \subsubsection{Distinguishing targets}
     When first engaging in the game it is hard to distinguish teammates from enemies. Another player might appear from behind
     a wall or stand in the shadows and within a split second the player has to decide whether or not it is an enemy. Counter
     Strike combat is extremely fast paced and if the player takes too long to decide he may already be killed by his enemy.
     Good players take less than a second from spotting an enemy to killing them.
    \subsubsection{Willingness to shoot human targets}
     Any person would probably hesitate before shooting another human being. However having done it without hesitation for literally
     thousands of times in a video game desensitizes the player. While holding a real gun and shooting someone is of course different
     than sitting in front of a screen and clicking a mouse the player still is prepared for exactly that moment over and over again
     over the course of years.
    \subsubsection{Multitasking}
     When progressing as a group the player has to keep in mind where his team mates are, how much ammunition he has, which grenades
     are at his disposal etc. In the back of his mind he knows if he will be backed up by a team mate when faced with an opponent
     or considers possible areas where an enemy may appear.
    \subsubsection{Prioritizing targets}
     When more than one enemy appear in front of the player he has to decide what to do. Does he back up, aim and shoot or do both and
     if he decides to shoot which target does he pick. This aspect depending on the game is more or less viable depending on the realism
     of the game.
    \subsubsection{Twitch effect}
     If a target appears on the screen or a state change in the game occurs the player is condition to react immediately. If another player
     emerges from behind a wall the player will immediately aim at the figure of the potential opponent while at the same time evaluating if
     it is an enemy or not. Hearing footsteps or fire the player will instantly try to locate the spacial source of the noise and try to position
     himself accordingly while taking a look at the radar trying to determine the position of his teammates.
\section{Corporate Games}
\label{sec:genres-corporate-games}
    Corporate games are used in companies to train their employees in various fields. While school and college graduates have a basic set of skills
    and knowledge, all companies are specialized in a certain area. This is true even the case for companies who operate within the same field of expertise.
    There are entire companies which specialize in providing corporate training for other companies who perform a  more 'hands-on' task. And since of
    course personal training while effective is also expensive there is a large market for serious games which allow to automatize some of it.
\subsection{History}
    Training applications already existed in the 80s. However computers back then didn't offer the multimedia experience they do now. With the introduction
    of the CD-ROM and the internet computers became better capable of handling multimedia.\newline
    The practical availability of e-learning in the 90s led to many companies utilizing the technology to digitalize their training courses. IBM for example
    saved a quarter billion dollars by converting their courses into e-learning material \cite{tom06}.\newline
    Ultimately however e-learning while cost efficient, easy to distribute and allowing for result monitoring via web quizzes etc. is not a very good solution.
    Before its introduction training manuals and videos already existed along with the classroom experience which could be viewed as an analog version of e-learning. When we look back at chapter \ref{sec:gaming} one of the characteristics of a game (which is fun) is \textit{immersion}. Videos and quizzes
    on the other hand are not very immersive and can even be tedious or boring.

    Future employees of companies have grown up with video games. As mentioned in chapter \ref{sec:genres-military-games} \textit{Military Games} try to accustom
    soldiers to real world combat using simulations etc. This practice has been around for a long time. The reason why games also work for corporate training is that just like new recruits, new employees are of the \textit{video game generation}. They grew up with games and are more attuned to them than to learning from manuals or videos.  